Times Union Staff Photo by LUANNE M. FERRIS. NOVEMBER 4, 1995. CAMBRIDGE FOOTBALL COACH KEN BAKER TALKS TO ONE OF HIS PLAYERS AT THE SECTION II CLASS C CHAMPIONSHIP. PLAYER IS THE QB, AND BILL A HAS HIS NAME.

Times Union Staff Photo by LUANNE M. FERRIS. NOVEMBER 4, 1995. CAMBRIDGE FOOTBALL COACH KEN BAKER TALKS TO ONE OF HIS PLAYERS AT THE SECTION II CLASS C CHAMPIONSHIP. PLAYER IS THE QB, AND BILL A HAS HIS NAME.

This is a story about a member of the Capital Region Football Hall of Fame and two of his disciples who will someday join their mentor as HOF members.

Ken Baker is one of the truly iconic coaches to ever work in Section II. His best work came in the sports of football and wrestling, and he is a Hall of Fame honoree in both sports at the state level.

Doug Luke is the current football coach at Cambridge, where he led the Indians to their Section II-record 13th sectional title Saturday with a 36-14 victory over Rensselaer.

Luke actually replaced Baker at Hoosick Falls when he took over at Cambridge in 1986. Four years later, Luke joined Baker's coaching staff at Cambridge that also included current La Salle coach Al Rapp.

"If I knew a few years earlier what I knew after being with Ken, I would have had some really good teams at Hoosick Falls," Luke said. "I was one of those rookie coaches who thought they knew everything, but didn't. I listened to everything he said and learned an awful lot from him. We still run many of the things Ken put in place at Cambridge."

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Ron Jones runs the football program at Hoosick Falls. The last one to play quarterback under Baker's tutelage at Hoosick Falls, Jones has guided the Panthers to five consecutive Class C Super Bowl titles and 50 straight wins in Section II competition.

Luke and Jones both are proud of what they have done at Cambridge and Hoosick Falls, and even more proud to continue the legacy of Baker.

Easily one of most proud weekends of Baker's life came in 2003 when Cambridge and Hoosick Falls both advanced to the Syracuse Carrier Dome for state title games.

Baker died at age 69 in January 2008 in Aiken, S.C. Speaking at a memorial service held in Hoosick Falls in Baker's honor in June 2008, legendary University at Albany football coach Bob Ford said of him, "He was John Wayne in a baseball cap."

Baker was able to revive the football program at Hoosick Falls when he took over in 1972. The Panthers had gone 5-20-2 from 1968-1971. He guided Hoosick Falls to a 87-33-5 mark that included four Super Bowl appearances and the 1981 Section II Division III (Class C) title.

Baker then took over at Cambridge, a football program known for its also-ran status. The Indians went just 7-33-1 from 1981-85 prior to Baker's arrival.

Slowly, Cambridge began to build something special. The breakthrough came in the 1992 Section II Class C Super Bowl at Bleecker Stadium when Cambridge — playing without star quarterback Steve Dearstyne — stunned Watervliet 7-6 for the school's first sectional title.

Watervliet entered the game ranked No. 1 the state. "That game changed everything for Cambridge football," Luke said. "We started believing in ourselves."

Luke and Rapp led the 1999 Cambridge team to the state Class D title. Since then, Luke has guided the Indians to nine sectional championships.

Baker also coached the Indians to sectional titles in 1993 and 1995 before retiring with a career record of 151-61-6.

"I like it when I go somewhere and people say, 'Oh, you are the Cambridge football coach.' You feel proud that you able to maintain something that someone built. Ken got it started, Al kept it going and I have been able to keep it up.

"I am fortunate to follow Ken Baker and Al Rapp," Luke added. "We may not have great athletes, or be big, strong or fast, but the kids believe."

Jones' first sectional title came in 2003. He says that was a magical season for both Cambridge and Hoosick Falls to culminate things at the Carrier Dome.

"That was pretty cool," Jones said. "Our whole town showed up for their game and they did for our game."

Jones says Baker and Dick Reeve, an assistant football coach at Hoosick Falls who was also a teacher and baseball coach, each had tremendous influence on his life. "They were important in how I am and how I teach my players," Jones said.

"The notion that building character helps you win is a major cornerstone of what we do, and that came from Ken," Jones added. "You look at some of the people he was friends with, whether it was Bud Kenyon, Bob Ford, John Taglione or Mike Lilac Sr, they all had the same beliefs."

Cambridge (10-0) and Hoosick Falls (10-0) both compete in state quarterfinal games Friday.

Another dual appearance in the Carrier Dome would be tremendous if that materializes, but anyone who knew Ken Baker realizes right now he is somewhere beaming with pride.